Chowk near Rinku Sharma's house to be named after him: NrDMC Mayor

New delhi: North Delhi Mayor and senior BJP leader Jai Prakash on Wednesday visited the family of Rinku Sharma at Mangolpuri who was killed last week here, and announced that the road intersection near his house will be named after him.

Jai Prakash's visit also follows closely on the heels of BJP leader Kapil Mishra's visit to Sharma's family. Mishra, who was formerly with the AAP, announced that he would raise Rs. 1 crore for the victim's family and began collecting funds which have crossed Rs 80 lakh as per reports.

Jai Prakash has also demanded compensation from the Delhi government, stating that he had "written to the Chief Minister Kejriwal demanding Rs 1 crore in compensation and a government job for the deceased's younger brother Manu Sharma. When the Delhi Govt can guarantee the same amount as compensation for others then why not for this family?", Jai Prakash said.

Notably, Rs 1 crore was the amount paid by the Kejriwal government to Mohammad Akhlaq's family, who was lynched by a Hindu mob in Dadri in 2015. Manu Sharma, the deceased's younger brother, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had said that Rinku was killed for collecting funds for the Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya, but any claims of the crime having a communal angle have been rubbished by the Delhi Police.

On being asked what kind of a response to his compensation demand he expects from the Delhi government, the North Delhi Mayor said: "The Delhi govt tries to find a political angle everywhere".

Without going into any specifics, he further said: "We feel that it is our responsibility to control issues such as this. It is the government's responsibility to support any family which has lost a child to such a tragedy. The government should punish and stop these kinds of people — who indulge in such crimes and activities in society. They can only be punished when we go on the offensive. If we don't raise our voice or stand up against every bad thing that happens in our society, such incidents will only increase".